Direct mail continues to hit the high spots

The 8.1 per cent growth in direct mail pushed it to a figure of $1.5 billion in Australia, with strong growth identified in both addressed and unaddressed mail. An upsurge in addressed mail in particular was powered by the federal elections in late 2004, according to a report issued by the Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia.

The report on direct marketing and media spending identified different levels of advertising growth. It reinforced print's continuing healthy share of the advertsiing spend:

magazines are up 46 .4 per cent to $44.2 million

printed classifed directories are up eight per cent to $1.4 billion

newspaper rose four and half per cent to $46.9 million

mail order was up five per cent to $408.6 million.

According to ADMA CEO Robert Edwards, the growth in direct mail indicates an increasing preference from both consumers and advertisers. “If you look at a lot of the research in respect to consumer attitudes, by far the most preferred method is direct mail,” he says. “An eight per cent level of growth, up from five per cent in the previous year, is indicative that it is continuing to grow and that more and more businesses are using it.”

Edwards also claims the results demonstrate the value of specifically targeted marketing. “Research shows that consumers react favourably to correctly targeted and appropriately sent information – the holy grail of direct marketing,” he says. “With the data-mining tools now available to direct marketers, they are allowed to dig deeply into demographics and appropriate target markets.”